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Notice how Trump tried to dance around the question and how Luntz had to ask it again.

Following Donald Trump’s appearance, last week at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, CNN’s Anderson Cooper sought out clarification on Trump’s assertion that he’s unsure if he ever asks God’s forgiveness.

Cooper followed up asking Trump if “asking for forgiveness” is a central tenet of his faith life.

“I try not make mistakes where I have to ask forgiveness,” Trump answered.

When further asked about repentance again by Cooper, Trump said: “I think repenting is terrific.”

Here is the thing about asking for forgiveness and repenting, they are mandatory to be a Christian, not a good Christian, merely a Christian. Donald Trump can use the title of being a Christian to get Christian voting public on his side, but unless he has confessed to being a sinner (which we all are, for that simply means to miss the mark of God), ask God for forgiveness and repent (which means to turn around and go the over way) Trump is no more a Christian than Satan is!

A lot of people think that taking the Lord’s name in vain is saying something like G..D.. but I submit to you that use God in this fashion to manipulate people to support an evil man by falsely claiming that it would be a sin not to support him or that Trump is a Christian when it isn’t true, that is taking God’s name in vain. I have differed with Republican policies before, but never have I wanted to question the faith of a politician, until now. Donald Trump is the closest thing that we ever have had to the Anti-Christ! That is to say that he is the opposite of Jesus Christ. I don’t believe in attacking someone’s faith, but when someone is falsely promoting someone like Trump as God’s man, I must as a man of God, stand up and say stop!
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It’s amazing the twisted world of Trump Republicans, after over 500 filibusters by Republicans against the real president Barack Obama, Trump now is whining that the Democrats aren’t falling over to summit to his will. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took to the Senate floor Thursday to mark a milestone of sorts: eight years of obstructing and insulting the nation’s first black president.

If Republicans could obstruct everything that President Obama put on the table, shouldn’t Trump Republicans avoid whining that Trump is being obstructed? The truth is that the Democrats are not obstructing, they are doing their jobs. That is something which the Republicans who constantly obstructed a legitimate president cannot say with all honesty.

For years I could not understand why so many people from Arkansas hated the Clintons so much that they were willing to spend millions of their own money to attack the Clintons. It was beyond sour grapes and beyond partisanship, frankly it looks personal and it was, but why?

This is only my speculation, but if the use of Republican style of campaigning has always been a trait of the Clintons as we Democrats have witnessed in 2008 and now in 2016, then that scorched earth style could have very easily created permanent enemies for the Clintons. Yes, we have seen Republicans use these despicable tricks for years and we all have voiced our contempt at such un-American tactics. Republicans with their thin skin couldn’t take a dose of their own medicine and uber-partisanship was born.

This type of campaigning regardless of who is doing it needs to stop, for it is an antithesis to what our country is all about. For right now, we must face that once someone has been alienated by such tactics, they are very unlikely to become allies of those who alienated them. More likely, they will become strong opponents of the alienators.

This is just one of many reasons why Hillary cannot win in the general and should drop out now, before she hurts the candidacy of Bernie Sanders any more. Well, that is my opinion, what do you think?Click here to post comments

Posted in Born Again | Comments Off on Isn’t it Time for Hilary to Drop Out of the Presidential Race?

We have been hearing Hilary’s people calling for Bernie to end his campaign, even though at this same point during the 2008 election Mrs. Clinton refused to end her campaign. Instead the former First Lady fought all the way to the convention, and yet, now she wants Senator Sanders to quit even though he might still win the primary.

Can you picture this, there is five minutes left in a basketball game. Your team is down by four points and the coach of the other team screams out, “You can’t win, just give up!” Would you? Of course not, so why do the Hillary people think that Bernie should give up before the convention? Could it be that they fear that they could see a repeat of 2008 where Hillary loss to President Obama?

Some might ask why is Bernie so much better than Hilary. These are ten points from the Sanders campaign:

Here’s what we need to do:

1) Rebuild our country’s crumbling infrastructure. A $1 trillion investment in our infrastructure will create at least 13 million jobs all over America – jobs that cannot be outsourced.

2) We must rewrite our disastrous trade policies that enable corporate America to shut down plans in places like West Virginia and move them to Mexico, China, and other low-wage countries.

3) We can create 1 million jobs for disadvantaged youths through legislation I introduced with Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.

4) We need to increase the wages of at least 53 million American workers by raising the minimum wage from a starvation wage of $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour.

5) At a time when women workers earn 79 cents for every dollar a man earns, we need to sign the Paycheck Fairness Act into law. Equal pay for equal work.

6) We need to make health care a right for every man, woman, and child through a Medicare for All single-payer system.

7) We need to treat drug addiction like a mental health issue, not a criminal issue.

8) We need to ensure every worker in this country has at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, two weeks of paid vacation, and one week of paid sick days.

9) We need to impose a tax on Wall Street to make public colleges and universities tuition free while substantially reducing student debt.

10) At a time when half of older workers have no retirement savings, we’re not going to cut Social Security, we’re going to expand it so people can retire with dignity and respect.

All these points are very important, but the last is the most important to me. I’m 59 and my body is broken down from doing hard work all of my life. More than two decades ago I took my current job with the promise that I would be able to retire with a $3,000 a month pension. I was suppose to have been able to do six months ago, but the company went back on their promise. Now, at 62 I’ll be able to get a fraction of that pension and with Social Security, I’ll receive almost enough to live on. Bernie will increase my Social Security which will secure that I won’t lose my home. I believe that I can only trust Bernie Sanders to do that right thing, this is about my life to me. Hilary isn’t just asking us to throw the towel in on a game or a race, but on my and many other individuals lives. I don’t trust Hilary to do the right thing and I do trust the Republicans to do the wrong thing. There are many Americans in my same situation or worse. God help us if we elect anyone other than Bernie Sanders.

I have heard many saying that Senator Bernie Sanders doesn’t have a chance to win the Presidency, but I want to remind everyone before 2008 most people didn’t believe that a Black man would ever be president. In this article I wanted to make the argument that when one political party chose the safe candidate and the other party took a risk, that risky candidate won. You will notice that I am avoiding the issues of the individual candidate, for it doesn’t matter how good or right those issues are, if only a few are listening, those issues really don’t matter.

In the 1976 election the Republican Party nominated the safe candidate Gerald Ford instead of the risky Ronald Reagan. At the same time the Democratic Party nominated the risky Jimmy Carter. An year earlier most Americans had not heard of Jimmy Carter. The smart money was on the incumbent Gerald Ford, for most were saying “Jimmy who?” History proved the smart money wrong.

In 1980, Senator Edward Kennedy was the risky candidate and President Carter was the safe candidate for the Democrats, they decided to play it safe by sticking with Jimmy Carter. At the same time the Democratic prayer was for the Republicans to nominate Ronald Reagan for he was viewed as a space cadet with crazy ideas. Reagan was the wild card/risky candidate which the Republicans chose. Sadly for the Democrats, their prayers were answered and Reagan was elected President.

In 1984 Reagan was a strong incumbent and yet had the Democrats chosen a risky candidate, they might have beaten him. Instead of picking the risky candidate Gary Hart, the Democrats played it safe with Walter Mondale who was the former Vice President and he lost to Reagan.

In 1988 it looks like there were no risky candidates with maybe the exception of the V.P. candidate Dan Quayle. Reagan’s V.P. George H.W. Bush was the Republican nominee and Democrats nominated Michael Dukakis who had beaten the more risky Democratic candidates of Reverend Jesse Jackson and Senator Gary Hart. It is possible that Poppy Bush won because of the momentum of the Reagan administration and the lack of movement in the safe candidacy of Michael Dukakis.

In 1992 Poppy Bush was the ultimate safe incumbent candidate who just a year earlier held a comfortable approval rating of 88%. It must have seemed to the Republican bosses that they had a sure win in Poppy Bush. As the primaries started almost no one knew who Bill Clinton was, to the Democratic bosses, he had to seem like quite a long shot. It was a surprise when he won the Democratic nomination and even more of a shock when he won the presidency.

1996 saw a very successful Clinton presidency with a hot economy and the constant illegitimate attacks by Republicans caused Bill Clinton to appear as the risky candidate. The Republican Party saw this riskiness as a weakness, as a liability when in fact it was an asset. The GOP chose a safe nominee in Senator Bob Dole. President Clinton won by a large margin.

In 2000 both parties ran safe candidates, which made the election a toss up. A year after the election all the Florida votes were finally counted, revealing that Al Gore actually beat George Bush Jr. but Gore’s play it safe strategy allowed the election to be close enough to steal. Had Gore taken the risk of embracing the Clinton administration and it’s accomplishments, he might just created a margin too large for any subterfuge to interfere with a honest election. Here the Republicans took some shady risks whereas the Democratic Party played it safe.

In 2004 Republican George Bush Jr. and Democratic Senator John Kerry were the nominees, both were the safe candidates. It is true that the Bush team took some risks using dirty tricks which included election fraud, but other than that there was no positive risk taking. The real risk candidate was former Vermont governor Howard Dean, but the Democratic machine didn’t want to take any risks and probably restricted Kerry to a point which allow the Republicans to steal another election. The Democratic Party has been afraid to address election irregularities, such as voting machines which casted the vote differently than the voter wanted or illegal counting methods which scored false votes. The Democratic Party refuses to take the risk of souring the electorate to voting. They would rather play it safe.

During the 2008 election there really wasn’t a safe candidate on the Democratic side. John Edwards had a very strong progressive message with a record of helping the poor and the middle class. Hillary Clinton had a very progressive voting record as Senator, aided in the investigation of the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon, as First Lady pushed for health reform and of course just being a woman was a risk being that there never been a female president. Barack Obama has a long history of progressive activism using his legal training to help the poor, minorities and the disadvantaged, in state and federal office he sponsored and supported bills which helped those who couldn’t fight for themselves. Almost forgot the biggest negative in the eyes of the powers that be, few thought that a Black man could be elected president. None of these candidates ingratiated themselves on the elite of society. The rich and powerful would have preferred someone who wouldn’t rock the boat. A safe candidate wouldn’t threaten the status quo. The Republicans chose a very safe candidate in Senator John McCain and they tried to give the symbolism of risk, thinking that a female V.P. candidate would pull in the female vote. They missed point that women didn’t want another woman, rather someone who represented their needs and Sarah Palin just didn’t fit that bill. If you told people that Barack Hussein Obama, a Black man would be the next president in 2006, they would call for the men in the white coats. I guess Barack Obama was the biggest risk and as we all know, he won.

Then in 2012, because of all the outrageous attacks on President Obama made him still appear as the risky nominee. The Republican party bosses thought that they had found the safest candidate in Mitt Romney. Governor Romney did his best to fit into that safe image. Once again the risky candidate won by a landslide.

The reason that these risky candidates seem to do so much better than the safe ones is that where the safe candidate tickle pink the kings and queens or the economic royalty, they do little to excite the majority of Americans. Risk does interesting things to people. Think of the feelings that you got in Vegas or Reno. Maybe it was seeing your team winning or racing another car. For that matter, anytime you took a risk, your heart pounded faster, as your excitement increased you felt more alive than ever before. This is one of the reason that those risky candidates do so much better. So, if either party runs a safe candidate against a risky candidate in 2016, look for the risky candidate to win, no matter what the odds. With that, this writer says go Bernie go!

I can recall a time in my early teens when we often would go to bed with the doors left unlocked and not of thought in the world about it. Today people can have five locks on their doors and still feel unsafe. I remember thinking when I got my first debit card how I would no longer have to worry about losing money because of getting stuck with a counterfeit bill. Now we are faced with hackers getting into our bank accounts through those same debit cards and clean us out. People work their whole lives, saving and scraping so they might have a retirement with dignity only to find that the CEO of the company that they work for has left the country with all the pension funds. The problem is that our society has truly become a me society. One is left wondering why?

When greed and selfishness become the norm, we must stop and reevaluate the reasons why. We do not have to look far to find our answer, the airways are filled with get rich quick schemes, the media is full of messages tell about taking care of number one, and we hear politicians playing on peoples fears and greed telling them,” it’s your money!” Then somebody asked,”Why has America seen such a moral decay?” This simple, it’s because of the love of money.

On my way to work there is a big sign over the freeway announcing the size of the Powerball lottery drawing. Saturday’s lottery was up to $350 million, and though all that is so tempting I find myself asking how would that change me? I find myself coming to the answer that I would not want such wealth; I have decided to be happy with what the good Lord has given me and trust Him for all my needs.

Someone said to me but if you were to win that $350 million would you really want to see a third of it go to taxes and I responded that they were looking at it wrong. Instead of looking at the amount of taxation they should be looking at what they have after taxation and realizing how blessed they are. The trouble is that people fall so in love with money, power and all their possession that they lose track of what matters. One of the biggest lies that is perpetrated today is the saying,”He who dies with the most toys, wins.” For me, success or winning will be to leave this world a little better than I found it. If upon my passing people can say that their lives are better because of my life, then that in deed will be a successful life.

This video documents what the Bible says about the wealthy and taxation. Some are quick to claim the title of Christianity while ignoring that the very God that they claim to serve condemns their love of money.

There is so much sorrow in the world that some times we forget the good. On this page we invited you all to share the joy in your lives, tell us of that which gives you happiness. To quote the Bible:

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

On Wings of Eagles Written by: Ken FollettFrom Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity Written by: The Great Courses Narrated by: Professor Bart D. EhrmanA Call to Arms: Mobilizing America for World War II Written by: Maury KleinChristian America and the Kingdom of God Written by: Richard T. HughesThe Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism Written by: Naomi KleinThe New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right Written by: Arthur GoldwagTwelve Years a Slave Written by: Solomon NorthupThe Origin of Civilization Written by: The Great Courses Narrated by: Professor Scott MacEachernWriting and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity Written by: The Great Courses Narrated by: Professor Marc ZenderThe Russian Revolution: History in an Hour Written by: Rupert ColleyThe Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution Written by: Francis Fukuyama Narrated by: Jonathan DavisThe Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies Written by: Jonathan AlterLiving the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon Written by: The Great Courses Narrated by: Professor Suzanne M. Desan Mere Christianity Written by: C.S. Lewis Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard The Skeptic's Guide to American History Written by: The Great Courses Narrated by: Professor Mark A. Stoler A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present Written by: Howard Zinn The Conscience of a Liberal Written by: Paul Krugman The Political Mind Written by: George Lakoff The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine Written by: David Brock, Ari Rabin-Havt, Media Matters for America Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Written by: Reza AslanThe Kingdom of the Cults Written by: Walter Martin Who Stole the American Dream? Written by: Hedrick Smith Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America Written by: Charles H. Ferguson The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger Written by: Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology Written by: Robert Wright The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet Written by: Robert M. Hazen The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Written by: Jonathan Haidt Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else Written by: Chrystia Freeland The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America Written by: George Packer It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism Written by: Thomas E. Mann, Norman J. Ornstein The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future Written by: Joseph E. Stiglitz The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted Written by: Mike Lofgren The Betrayal of the American Dream Written by: Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong with Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix Them Written by: Robert B. Reich End This Depression Now! Written by: Paul Krugman Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis Written by: Jimmy Carter Twilight of the Elites: America after Meritocracy Written by: Christopher Hayes Pity the Billionaire: The Unexpected Resurgence of the American Right Written by: Thomas FrankThe Future: Six Drivers of Global Change Written by: Al Gore The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science - and Reality Written by: Chris Mooney Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea Written by: George Lakoff Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate Written by: George Lakoff Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class - and What We Can Do About It Written by: Thom Hartmann What Would Jefferson Do?: A Return to Democracy Written by: Thom Hartmann Paradise Lost: By: John MiltonAbsolute Surrender: By: Andrew MurrayAll of Grace: Charles H. SpurgeonIn His Steps by Charles Monroe Sheldon